Hull Ionians 68 Rugby Lions 20

A HEFTY defeat confirmed that Lions face a season-long scrap to stay out of the relegation zone but they were rewarded for their admirably determined display with three tries, the last one in the closing seconds as they plugged away until the bitter end.

A HEFTY defeat confirmed that Lions face a season-long scrap to stay out of the relegation zone but they were rewarded for their admirably determined display with three tries, the last one in the closing seconds as they plugged away until the bitter end.

A brilliant length-of-the-field dash by Aaron Higgins set up Craig Dowsett for Lions’ first try, converted by Stajka, and although Thomas quickly snapped up his second, prop Ben Nuttall cut the arrears to 47-15.

Hull hit double figures for the second successive game, however, as Danny Hague and Rob Kench sandwiched Thomas’s hat-trick effort before flanker Liam Munro charged home for that late consolation.